Engraven (20 page)

Dahlia

There was so much to be done that I simply gave up and sat down, right there in the grass, behind the Alpha’s house.

“What are you doing? This arch still needs more flowers.”

“No, no, it’s fine.” I waved Acacia off. It didn’t matter if I sat down, anyway. Every time I stuck a flower in the damned thing, she took it out and placed it somewhere else.

I was actually saving her time by sitting down.

“My stomach hurts.”

“Jitters. Nice.”

“It’s not jitters.”

“Please, Lia, if you were any more nervous, I’d mistake you for a Chihuahua shifter.”

Wench.

“Fine. I’m nervous. Get over it.”

“Okay. I’m done here. Mom can do the rest of the stuff. We need to get you upstairs, dressed and do something with those bags under your eyes.” I slapped Cia on the arm and she yelled back, “Shut up. He’s not going to care about the bags under your eyes. He’ll be more concerned about what’s under your dress.”

“Stop!” I threw a flip-flop at her.

“Just for that, fake eyelashes.”

“No. They look like my eyelids are giving birth to furry caterpillars.”

“That was when we were fifteen.”

“Don’t care.”

“Okay. Move your ass. We’ve got two hours.”

“I need a few minutes.” Tarrow interrupted her.

“You two are killing me. I swear, Tarrow, ten minutes.”

He nodded and waited for her to leave. Sitting down in the grass beside me, he handed over a box. It was plain brown with a simple white ribbon tied across the top.

“This is my mating gift. I needed one more thing for it, that’s why I’m so late in giving it to you.”

My chin quivered right before I cried. I hated it.

“Don’t cry. Just open it.”

I opened the box to reveal—I didn’t know what. There were pieces of cloth strung together. I actually recognized some, but not all.

One looked like it had been snipped from my wedding dress.

“This is a mating chain. I don’t know who came up with the name. I’d have to ask Rev. He told us one time in clan history class that these were given to the female before the wedding as the original mating gift. It’s pieces of clothing and other things tied together that represent our courting. The couple is supposed to hang it above their bed as a reminder. And it follows the rule perfectly.”

“The rule?”

“A mating gift cannot be bought or sold because it has no value to anyone but your mate.”

“What are these things?”

He explained one by one, holding up each piece. One was a piece of the scarf I’d worn on our first date. One was the shirt he wore the first night we’d met in the woods.

A piece of one of my father’s canvases.

A cut from one of my mother’s aprons.

A tiny clock for me making him wait.

A piece of Colt’s blanket for the loyalty and honor he saw in me from taking care of Echo.

A tiny frame that held one petal from each of the flowers in our garden from my family home.

A sliver of wood from his mother’s house that was now my family’s home.

After everything was explained, he shrugged and said, “I don’t know.”

What didn’t he know? It was so imperfectly perfect just like us.

“Can I hang it on the arch? Is that okay? I want it to be here when we make our vows.”

“So, you like it?”

“I can’t imagine a better gift. It’s all priceless just like you are to me.”

That was easier than I’d thought.

“Thank you.” He kissed me on the forehead and helped me to standing. He hung it on our arch where it could be seen like a wind chime only for us.

“I’ve got to go get dressed before my sister kills me.”

“Go ahead, mate. Get dressed. I’ll meet you here.”

And with a kiss to my temple, he was gone.

Embarrassment and nerves didn’t suit me. My face was flushed. My stomach was in my throat. And the sweat—Creator help me, the sweat.

But before I could make it down the aisle, my arm firmly wound around my Dad’s, the Alpha stepped forward and reached for a microphone.

“Ladies and gentlemen of the clan—I know this is a bit unorthodox, but it seems that everything in this coupling follows that same pattern.”
Damned clan gossip. Excuse me while I go vomit.

There was a unified chuckle from the audience—great.

“Before I perform this ceremony, on behalf of the Coeur and I—for the love we feel to have you in our lives, especially in the last weeks when our family needed you most—even though you weren’t clan—would officially like to ask you if you would be a part of this community. We’d be so grateful to have a female as honorable and loyal as you in our clan. And your mate didn’t exactly agree to this, before you disown him.”

Instead of the secondary chuckle I expected from the crowd, there was a collective gasp.

“I’ve never heard of them doing this before…” My mom said, pretending to unravel my veil.

There was a lot I hadn’t heard of, that’s why I wasn’t necessarily shocked.

Visions of my father parading around the house preaching non-clanisms flashed in my mind, but so did what I’d learned to the contrary.

And my mate—he belonged to this clan.

And I belonged to him.

“I accept.”

And just like that, my bear took the lead. She reached forward in my psyche and told me what to do. I bared my neck, out of pure instinct.

The clapping told me I’d done well—or she’d done well—us.

“The Coeur and I couldn’t be happier. Thank you. Now, let’s proceed.”

The Wedding Song by Yeah Yeah Yeahs began to play as my dad and I walked down the aisle. I winked at my sister, who was already crying. She and Tarrow had been scheming.

My dad let go of me too soon and yet not soon enough.

I took Tarrow’s arm, but had waited until this moment to really look at him—I knew I’d be broken before I started—too broken to even walk.

He was the most handsome man I’d ever seen. There was so much honor and love in his eyes—it didn’t make sense, the Creator’s plan—but for maybe the first time, I trusted it. And in trusting the plan, I trusted my mate.

The vows, so much different than the vows of humans, were said at a snail’s pace, letting each word and promise take its rightful place before moving on to the next. My mate’s gaze doesn’t stray. Each covenant is spoken without a single blink.

We exchange rings, which isn’t necessary, but, of course, Tarrow has also done this without me knowing. The past few weeks had given him ample time to get it all done.

“With no further delay, here, before our clan and the Alpha pair, I pronounce you eternally mated.”

Then, without anyone telling him, my mate bent me backwards and kissed the hell out of me—in front of my new clan.

Tarrow

After three dances with my mate, I was ready to go. Scratch that, after one I was ready. Instead I took my pleasure by watching her as the clan embraced not only our coupling but the fact that she was now, officially one of us.

Yes, I’d wanted to chant ‘one of us. One of us.’, but refrained.

She glowed the entire day and into the night. The Alpha and Coeur had left early with an infant to care for, but their presence and blessing meant the world to us.

“My mate says I was pretty harsh to you. I’m sorry for that. Anyone can see how much you love her. I’ve got a lot of history with this clan, but that’s what it needs to stay—history. I’m still not happy about the situation, but I’m okay with you.”

“Thank you, Sir. And no apology needed. I know you didn’t mean it.”

“Hell, I don’t even remember it. I don’t remember most of what I say lately.”

We chuckled and before he moved on, he shook my hand as firmly as possible and I returned the strength.

I saw Dahlia and Lia whispering in the corner and then from the corner of my eye, I saw Aspen join the celebration—late and with a girl on his arm—a human.

I looked back at Dahlia, who was looking at him too and Cia had her back turned. Dahlia waved me over.

“You’re ready to go?” I attempted not to sound too eager, but it failed miserably.

She giggled and leaned against me. “Almost. Who is that?”

“Oh, that’s Aspen. He’ll be in trouble for this stunt in the morning. He likes to push limits.”

“What is it?” Acacia asked, not turning around. “I don’t want to be obvious.”

“It’s this guy, but he’s got a girl who is obviously human on his arm. A blonde—kind of reminds me of Cinderella.”

“Okay. I’m going to pretend to fix your hair and take a peek. Keep talking.

Acacia walked around Dahlia, undoing a pin or two and then picking up a strand and putting it back. She moved around to the back and then looked over Dahlia’s shoulder.

I knew that look—everyone did from a mile away.

Aspen dropped the glass he was holding. The music and every conversation came to a halt.

“What?” Dahlia asked.

“Oh, no. Creator, don’t do this to me.” Acacia whimpered from behind her sister.

I reached around Acacia’s shoulders to comfort her, but a growl from the mouth of Aspen made me stop.

Rev stepped forward and grabbed Aspen’s chin forcing him to look away from Acacia.

“Take this female home and then report to me. Don’t stop for a happy meal. Don’t stop for gas. Don’t do anything but get your pathetic ass to my doorstep in no more than an hour.”

Aspen’s face grew ashen as he nodded and said something I thought I’d never hear from him. “Yes, Sir.”

That’s when Acacia began to cry. Dahlia turned to gather her sister in her arms while Rev and I discussed his punishment.

The Alpha would have to have him make amends—not only for his embarrassing act at a clan function—but for the betrayal of his mate.

Shit.

Acacia soon broke herself from her sister’s hold and left the scene without another word.

Dahlia

Tarrow drove us to the cottage where we’d marked each other. We had a flight the next day to somewhere—he wouldn’t tell me where, but told me to bring lots of things for hot weather.

“Is this okay? I hate hotels.” He said, putting the bags just inside the door.

“It’s perfect.”

He winked at me before taking me into his arms and carrying me over the threshold.

“This isn’t our house.”

He nodded. “I know. I get to do this again every time we get to a new place. Lucky me.”

He wasn’t kidding. He meant it.

I smiled, but he knew there was more underlying. My sister had met her mate on my mating ceremony night and he was a far cry from the prince charming she deserved.

“I’m sorry. I feel like it is my fault. I knew he was dating, but it wasn’t really my business. If I had any clue he would be Cia’s mate, I would’ve beat it out of him.”

I leaned against his chest. “It’s not your fault he’s an ass.”

We began to sway, dancing without music.

“Don’t be nervous.” He said, brushing my hair back over my ears. Gently, he pulled the pins from my hair putting each one in his pocket until they were all gone and I was free again.

“That had to be a hundred.”

“At least.”

“I like you better wild. Not that you weren’t beautiful today. I couldn’t breathe for a moment.”

“I felt it here.” I took his palm and placed it over my chest.

He nodded, I felt the motion over the top of my head, but he didn’t move his hand.

“Look at me.”

Slowly, I raised my gaze. For a moment I stared, completely content to be in that moment alone with him, everything settled—everything complete inside me.

“We’re not completely mated, you know.”

“I know.”

“I love you, you know that?”

“I know that.” My throat caught. I closed my eyes for a second and let my bear take over—she knew what I wanted to say and had the guts to say it for me. “I love you too. You know that, right?”

Tarrow bit down on his lip and nodded. “I’ve always known, but it’s better to hear it.”

Like the words engraved on the underside of his father’s mantelpiece, so his love would always be engraved on my heart.

“Take me to bed, mate.”

Chuckling he bent down and threw me over his shoulder, dress and all. “Finally, something easy.”

Beholden

Bayou Bear Chronicles #4

Acacia

“I’m mated to the clan’s only player—fan-effing-tastic”